The #stampoftheday for is a “souvenir sheet” consisting of four 3-cent stamps issued (actually re-issued) in conjunction with the Third International Philatelic Exhibition, held in New York City in May 1936. The stamps commemorate the Connecticut Tercentenary, the California Pacific Exposition, the Michigan Centennial, and the Texas Centennial.

The first celebrated the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Connecticut by dissatisfied colonists from Massachusetts who had come to Connecticut in search of religious and political freedom. In 1636, the early settlements of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor united to form the Connecticut colony, which was granted a charter by King Charles II of England in 1662. In 1687, after several attempts to gain control of the colony, Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of several other New England colonies, demanded Connecticut’s charter, but the people refused. Supposedly, they had hidden it in the oak tree pictured on the 3¢ stamp. (This, I assume, is the namesake of Charter Oak Bridge near Hartford that – back in the days when people drove places – I would cross on my way from Boston to-or-from New York (or Middletown).

The second honored the California-Pacific International Exposition, a world’s fair held in San Diego’s Balboa Park in 1935 and 1936. The stamp shows an aerial view of the site, including ornate buildings constructed specifically for the exposition that are still being used today. The third, which features the state seal of Michigan, honored the 100th anniversary of Michigan becoming the nation’s 26th state in 1837. And the fourth marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Texas, which was a separate country until it became the 28th state in 1845.

The edge of the plate block, like many of this era, noted that these were printed under the authority of Postmaster General James A. Farley, one of the first Irish Catholic politicians in American history to achieve success on a national level. He simultaneously served as chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and Postmaster General under the first two administrations of President Franklin Roosevelt. As the campaign manager for Roosevelt’s 1928 and 1930 gubernatorial campaigns as well as Roosevelt’s presidential campaigns of 1932 and 1936, Farley played a major role in creating the New Deal Coalition of Catholics, labor unions, African Americans, and farmers. In addition to serving as Postmaster General, Farley handled most mid-level and lower-level appointments, in consultation with state and local Democratic organizations. Farley resigned in 1940 because he not only opposed Roosevelt’s plan to run for an unprecedented third term but also because he sought to be the Democratic presidential nominee instead. After resigning, he was appointed as the chairman of the board of Coca-Cola, a position he held until he retired in 1973.

In 1982, the General Post Office building in Manhattan – some of which was built at the same time (and was designed by the same architect as) the adjacent old Penn Station was renamed for Farley. Much of that building is being repurposed as the Moynihan Train Hall, a project that not only should ease overcrowding in the current Penn Station but also recapture some of the glory of the old Penn Station.